"Tonight, tonight . . . "

Big doings tonight at our house.
First of all, Y-Chromo received his much anticipated e-mail announcing the cast list for his high school's autumn production of WEST SIDE STORY. Y-Chromo will be playing Tony . . . which (if you're unfamiliar with the play) is the male lead. I suppose I will be hearing about "squirrels named Maria" for the next couple of months.

A few moments later, the telephone rang, and Y-Chromo pounced on it, but it was for me. At first, I couldn't figure out why someone from an RWA Chapter in Florida would be calling me . . . then it hit me as she said the magic words: AND JERICHO BURNED finalled in the 2007 Tampa Area Romance Authors (TARA) contest.

This is the first of several contests in which I entered this book, so I am prodigiously pleased. The TARA Contest (p/k/a FIRST IMPRESSIONS) has a reputation for being a tough contest, so finalling satisfies something deep inside me; the same thing that last year had me whining to chapter-mates during a brainstorming session at the RWA National Conference in Atlanta that I didn't know if I could -- if I am a good enough writer to -- write this story.

Mercury may be in retro, but it was a real good evening here.